Wicked Witch?
by TheHylianReader
Summary: During her captivity in Kiamo Ko, Dorothy Gale learns a little of the past of everyone's favorite Wicked Witch and discovers that maybe she isn't so wicked after all. One-Shot


_Well, this is my first dabling outside my normal writing zone. Just finished Son of a Witch after reading Wicked. I sort of combined the MGM movie, Musical, and Original Oz book here for just a look at how Dorothy may have seen Elphaba._

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Wicked. Wish I did. I don't. Then again, I'd rather be in Wicked anyway so no loss for me._**

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_Wicked Witch?_

Dorothy Gale, apparent liberator of the Munchkins and Kansas farm girl, was washing the floor of the room outside the tower room of her... The Wicked Witch of the West. Ever since the Witch used her flying monkeys to kidnap both her and the Cowardly Lion (did he say his name was Brrr?), she hadn't been harmed but was put to work cleaning the odd castle the Witch lived in. Dorothy wasn't quite sure why she wouldn't admit this was the Witch's home...

That Witch... She puzzled Dorothy to the extreme. At the first meeting they had, after accidentally crushing her sister the Wicked Witch of the East, she was furious, direct, tall, unafraid, and all around frightening. However, after picking up her new friend the Tin Man, the Witch was different... she sounded hoarse and seemed, if possible, paler... Dorothy wasn't sure the others heard her change or saw her shake, but the farm girl did. Something had bothered her deeply...

Now, Dorothy wasn't even sure she was the same Witch. Sure she demanded that the girl return the Ruby Slippers to her, which Dorothy kept trying to do anyway; but she was still different. It almost seemed like she was forcing herself to be Wicked... If Dorothy caught the Witch off-guard, it seemed like she put on a mask suddenly and then started shouting... Well, she hardly shouted anymore... More like tell her what to do apathetically... She rarely left her tower room anymore, she didn't seem to eat, she didn't do much of anything healthy, Dorothy thought.

As for the Lion, the Witch never hurt him, but tried to coax him into helping her. He refused and she responded by not feeding him. Dorothy thought that wasn't nice, but she brought him scraps she found to help him. Besides that, she left him alone. She pretty much left both of them alone...

The odd castle sentries seemed about as apathetic as the Witch. To the girl, it seemed they didn't exactly serve or fear her and she didn't interact with them much either. One guard, whom Dorothy got to know after finding him a barrel of wine, told her the Witch came with word from their prince she was to be allowed here. No mention of the name of the prince, as the guard passed out after drinking too much.

So Dorothy washed and cleaned, somehow hoping that she could get the forgiveness of the Witch for killing her sister by accident. At the same time, the curious part in her desired to know why the Witch was... acting like she was. Not like the witches in Auntie Em's story books that were always bad and always got what they deserve in the end. No, this Witch was different. Like how all Oz was different.

_Well, I finished here. I wonder what else I have 'ta do now_ thought Dorothy.

The only way to find out was to ask the Witch, who was currently in her room again. Dorothy knocked softly, but didnt hear the Witch respond. Curious, she quietly opened the door and nearly gasped...

The Witch was sitting on an old couch, with a book that had a fancy _S_ on its cover. She wasn't reading, but looking at what looked like old photographs. Dorothy couldn't see the photos but watched her sometimes wrinkle her nose in disgust, gaze longingly, sometimes chuckle, but most surprisingly smile. At one page, she sighed sadly and looked longingly at whatever-she-was-looking-at for some time. It was just after then when she noticed Dorothy and the mask came back on.

"What do you want, girl?" she snapped angrily, slapping the book shut.

"I...I finished cleaning outside, ma'am," Dorothy replied, meekly. She still wanted no trouble with someone who could conjure fire...

The Witch stuttered for a moment, as if thinking of what the girl should do or how to insult her.

"Oh... Well, fine...Go...Go..." she looked around herself for a second, "Clean...Clean up this room except for that couch," she pointed to a couch covered in colored fabrics and random cloths.

"I'm going to check on that Lion again...So...Just clean. I'll be back..." the Witch muttered grabbing her broomstick and taking it with her downstairs. Dorothy was left alone in the tower, among the Witch's belongings...

_What was in that book?_

Dorothy picked up the book and flipped through the pages. It looked-rather it was- a university year book. Unlike the pictures back home, these were nicely colored and beautiful. The school almost looked like a fairy-tale castle and the people looked like princesses and princes. Near the back, about half way, Dorothy stopped short at one of the student photos.

_Elphaba Thropp- Third Thropp Decending, Munchkinland_

It was of a young woman in a navy blue suit and knit cap wearing a pair of glasses... Not too out of the ordinary. Except she was _green_.

_Is that the Witch? Elphaba?_ thought Dorothy.

Next to it was someone named _Galinda Upland Ardrenna_ who looked a lot like Glinda the Good. In fact, they were a perfect match as Dorothy looked closer. Also close by was a _Nessarose Thropp..._the W- Elphaba's sister...

Other names were circled and some scribbled out-so Dorothy quickly figured out who her old friends were.

Friends? It sounded odd to Dorothy that someone who was supposed to be wicked even had friends at all... But, then again, this was back when she was in school a long time ago...right?

She continued to look at Elphaba's picture... To be perfectly honest she thought she sorta the same as she did back then... Dorothy kept looking.

In a section of the yearbook where more personal photos were kept, she found even more odd pictures... Elphaba standing next to Nessarose, the latter being in a wheelchair (Dorothy felt awful again). In another, she-Elphaba-and Glinda-or was it Galinda?- were goofing around at a picnic with some of the friends (Dorothy assumed) at some sort of casual picnic. Another was of Glinda/Galinda running from some boy-Dorothy remembered the name Boq Riddle- and Glinda had just tripped over her own shoes as the shot was taken.

One picture caught Dorothy very off-guard...

Elphaba, in a black frock with that weird conical hat she always wore and those round little glasses, was dancing...at a party...with someone who looked like a prince. Dorothy checked the class photos.

_Fiyero Tiggular, Arjiki Prince of the Vinkus- Kiamo Ko. _The dancing photo showed Elphaba actually smiling... maybe laughing as she was dancing with that prince... did she love him?

"What are you doing with that?"

Dorothy looked up to see the Witch again, dark green-was she blushing?- running towards her. At first the little girl thought the Witch was after her again, but instead she grabbed the book and placed it quickly up on top of a bookcase out of Dorothy's reach.

"Hasn't anyone taught you not to look though people's things?" she shouted angrily.

Dorothy began to stammer, "I'm sorry but... I was curious and-"

"Well you know what they say about curiousity now out!" The Witch pointed to the door, but made no other presses for Dorothy... Who was feeling unusually brave...

"That boy in the book...Fiyero...Did you love him?"

Elphaba went pale... the mask of wickedness fell and she was left exposed... her pointing hand dropped and she began to shake.

Dorothy obviously hit some sort of nerve with that... Elphaba stammered and stuttered...

"H-How?-Wha-What?...I don't know what you're talking about..." she said quietly.

"You seemed to really like him... Did he like you back?"

Elphaba seemed to snap back, not back to her fake wickedness, but back to her senses. She grabbed Dorothy by the arm and proceeded to drag her out of her room.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Elphaba slammed the door with such a force that dust from the ceiling fell covering Dorothy like a dirty snowfall... And after the echo of the slam died down... Dorothy heard the sound of someone crying...of fabric rubbing against itself and wood and stone... The cry was familiar though. Dorothy for a while thought that the Witch was keeping someone else prisoner. But now...

_Is that her?_

Dorothy waited a second for the shadow of Elphaba-who was still crying- to move from the door. Once it did, Dorothy slipped back in and hid behind a dead potted plant. She watched Elphaba... She took off her hat and shook her long black hair out. She looked much younger than she did the first time Dorothy saw her...

Elphaba tossed her hat on a stand holding the big magic book she always used and walked out on to the balcony of her tower. She leaned forward on the stone railing and looked up at the stars, still misty eyed. Dorothy moved to the couch Elphaba was on earlier and hid behind that, gaining a better view and hearing point.

Elphaba was silent for a time... maybe a few minutes even... She looked up.

"Oh Yero...What am I doing?"

_Yero? Fiyero? _

"I know...this isnt me... I just-...I don't know what else I'm supposed to do anymore..."

Elphaba leaned forward on her elbows and looked down...

"I mean- What can I do? All the good I've ever tried to do just blew up in my face... I couldn't help Dr. Dillamond...Or Nessa... or you," she let out a sob, "And...And G-Glinda probably hates me now... I mean... after what happened in the corn field... Lurline, she probably won't ever forgive me..."

Elphaba began to cry more... and harder...

"W-Why did you ha-have to come with me? I-I-I'm a fugitive! She was practically a p-princess!"

Sobbing now... and Dorothy could see burn marks where the tears streaked down her face...

"You idiot! Wh-Why couldn't you-you have just let me-let me die! Why couldn't you LET ME DIE?"

Elphaba fell to the ground now, holding herself up on her hands and knees, sobbing... her voice growing hoarse again from her crying as hot, angry burns began to cover her face...

"I-I did love you!" she sobbed, "But-But why did you have to leave me here without you! YOU'RE GONE NOW!"

More sobbing... and after a while of it she threw back her head and screamed, "FIYERO!" so loud and long that Dorothy's heart nearly broke...

_She did love him...Now he's gone and she wants to be dead... she must be miserable..._

Elphaba stopped, or tried to, crying and proceeded to wipe her tears off using her dress sleeve. Like someone who was sleepwalking, she mindlessly made her way back inside and behind a screen, not even bothering to notice Dorothy was still in the room. Behind the screen, Elphaba changed out of her (actually, thought Dorothy, rather pretty) patchwork dress into a nightgown. A white one for a change...

Elphaba went over to the couch covered in cloth and somehow maneuvered underneath them all and laid down, facing the back of the sofa. She began to cry again... cry herself to sleep...

Dorothy couldn't believe the whole thing... The "Wicked Witch of the West" not wicked at all, having loved and lost, and making herself sick with grief... Dorothy could see that she was starving herself intentionally or not, and how she was able to sleep with whatever grief she had definitely wasn't easy...

Dorothy wondered if she herself had gone crazy... because before she could stop herself, she was standing right behind the Wit- Elphaba... Not even bothering to go unnoticed...

Elphaba was still slightly crying, and Dorothy couldn't tell whether or not she was still awake. But she did it anyway...

"You're not really wicked, ain't you?"

Elphaba didn't move...

"You're just sad is all... I know how you feel... I lost my mother and my father when I was little... but I never fell in love like you did... I know he must've loved you a lot to give up his life for you... And my Aunt Em always says people you love never leave you, you know? He's with you still. And you'll figure out what to do. I'm sure..."

Dorothy did the unthinkable...

Dorothy stepped up right behind Elphaba...

...and hugged her...

Dorothy saw Elphaba was still awake, but she was slilent... She stiffened at the hug, but Dorothy kept it up. When Dorothy did let go, she didn't relax again. She just... stayed like that.

After a moment, Dorothy heard her whimper, "...please just go away..."

Dorothy left without another word, somewhat satisfied and somewhat disappointed...

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Outside, in the darkness of Kiamo Ko, a stange figure was prowling along the walls... he stopped as he heard a voice...

"Oh Yero...What am I doing?"

Fae...

"I know...this isnt me... I just-...I don't know what else I'm supposed to do anymore..."  
The figure looked up and saw her on a balcony... Elphaba Thropp...

She grew quiet, still speaking...but not loud enough for him to hear... until...

"You idiot! Wh-Why couldn't you-you have just let me-let me die! Why couldn't you LET ME DIE?"

His heart, he guessed he still had one, tore in two...

"I-I did love you!...But-But why did you have to leave me here without you! YOU'RE GONE NOW!"

"I'm sorry Fae...I promise I'll be back for you...Please hold on..."

The Scarecrow left, back to join the Tin Man before he became suspicious of his true motives...

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_Okay, so I wrote this all in one shot and really didnt bother to edit. I just wanted to get this out of my head so I can keep going with my other story. If anyone beta reads this, edits it, and shows me a better copy than this, I'll do a request fic for you. **NO GELPHIE WHATSOEVER **I'm uberly against them as a couple...*shudders* Fiyeraba...Fiyeraba... okay better. So like I said, I'll request-fic you if you make this better. _

**_Review me too fiercely, review me too tight... I need help believing you're reviewing me tonight..._**


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